Climate Piloting Opportunities
The Trust for Governors Island offers unique opportunities for innovators to test early-stage climate products and services in a real-world environment. Selected piloting projects utilize Governors Island’s built, social, and natural environments – including a 2.2-mile waterfront, 43-acre climate resilient park, 7 miles of car-free streets, and 50+ historic buildings – to accelerate climate innovation, economic opportunity, and social impact in diverse urban communities.
All piloting projects on Governors Island address climate change through climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and/or environmental justice. Projects must be temporary and be supporting product development and deployment through real-world testing and solutions validation.
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Key Dates
Key dates apply to the 2025 Climate Solutions Challenge (theme: Circular Economy). General Application projects are considered on a rolling basis.
Date Issued: |
October 24, 2024 |
Webinars: |
November 7 & 12, 2024 (JUST ADDED: November 20, 2024) |
Optional Site Tour: |
November 15, 2024 |
Application Deadline: |
December 5, 2024, at 5pm |
Interviews & Site Analysis: |
December 2024-January 2025 |
Challenge Winners Notified: |
February 2025 |
Pilots Begin: |
May 1, 2025 |
- Receive access to a project site for 3 to 12 months with no fee, as well as technical support from the Trust as the sole owner and operator of eligible sites.
- Collect data in a real-world environment while also engaging with funders, investors, and prospective customers.
- Bring your climate solution to a high visibility public place with nearly 1M annual visitors.
Scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Apply Now." You will need to crate a Submittable account in order to submit an application. You will be prompted to select one of the following opportunities when you apply:
- Apply to the annual Climate Solutions Challenge by December 5, 2024: Win a $10,000 prize and access to supplemental grants generally not to exceed $20,000 to support project design and deployment. All program funding is non-dilutive and grant amounts will be based on demonstrated need. Selected teams can access opportunities with the Trust’s network of climate partners, including the New York Climate Exchange, regulatory agencies, and content area experts such as Closed Loop Partners.
- Submit a General Application on your own schedule: A year-round rolling application is open to all climate sectors. Project teams are responsible for all costs.
- Applicants must be incorporated as a legal entity and must be working on urban climate solutions (e.g., hardware, software, materials research, policy, or innovative business and financing models).
- Project teams should identify a critical milestone that requires a temporary pilot site to support product development and deployment.
- Startups and young companies, including those led by underrepresented founders, are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to companies with 50 employees or fewer.
Problem:
New Yorkers produce nearly 4 million tons of residential waste and another 4 million tons of commercial waste every year. More than half of New York City’s solid waste consists of construction and demolition materials. Today, NYC diverts about 20 percent of solid waste from landfills and has committed to send zero waste to landfills by 2030. This waste stream drives greenhouse gas emissions across its life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to its transportation and disposal. Waste transfer stations in many cities are in located in environmental justice communities, contributing to longstanding air pollution. Shifting to a circular economy that reuses, refurbishes, and recovers all kinds of materials, reduces waste trucking, and minimizes landfill waste and embodied carbon is key to achieving an equitable, net-zero city.
Challenge:
How can circular economy products and solutions drive down the climate impact of the urban waste stream and extend resource recovery to our businesses and neighborhoods?
Innovation Tracks:
- Low-carbon and circular construction products, including healthy materials.
- Products using resources that are recovered from the urban waste stream.
- Products and services that reduce construction and demolition waste by extending the useful life of existing systems and making more efficient use of new materials.
- Measurement tools and services that accelerate diversion from landfill and reduce solid waste.
Webinars: November 7, 12, and 20, 2024
Site Tour: November 15, 2024
Click here to register for webinars and the optional site tour. Click here to download webinar presentation.
Apply For Permit
Apply For PermitFAQs
Have more questions before applying? Read through these FAQs, or check out our Rules and Regulations.
Applicants must be incorporated as a legal entity and must be working on urban climate solutions. Preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate a clear path to commercialize and scale their product or service. Unincorporated applicants may partner with an organization to serve as the legal incorporated entity for the purposes of the proposal to the extent such entity is prepared to fulfill this role.
Applications to the General Application may be submitted year-round. Please select “General Application” in the application form.
No. Project teams selected through the General Application are responsible for all project costs.
The Trust is open to collaborating on a range of project schedules for temporary piloting projects, within reason. Projects must be temporary, with a plan for removal at the end of the term.
Yes. Challenge winners will receive a $10,000 prize and access to supplemental grants generally not to exceed $20,000 to support project design and deployment. All program funding is non-dilutive and grant amounts will be based on demonstrated need.
After applications are submitted, interviews may be held with a subset of Applicants starting in December 2024. A site visit may be offered at the Trust’s discretion to explore feasibility and alignment, identify potential project sites, and inform a project workplan. The site visit will provide an opportunity to discuss additional information requests including but not limited to concurrent uses of the site, utility availability, and anticipated permits and approvals.
Starting in February 2025, Challenge winners will be notified and will have two weeks to return a signed acceptance letter. Following receipt of the acceptance letter, Challenge winners and the Trust will finalize a Project Workplan, aiming to reach a signed license agreement (including evidence of approved insurance coverages) with the Trust for Governors Island within six weeks.
All prizes, grants, or other payments by the Trust will be issued as set out in the final executed license agreement.
Governors Island ferries operate 7 days a week on a 30-minute interval during business hours. Vehicle permits are available from 7 to 9:30am on weekdays. The ferry can accommodate a range of vehicles and trucks. The maximum vehicle weight is 40 tons. Per the terms of the license, projects transporting vehicles to the Island are required to carry commercial liability insurance on those vehicles.
The Site File, linked in the application, includes an overview of building and infrastructure systems on the Island to support preliminary site analysis. Applicants are welcome, but not required, to utilize this information to identify specific sites of interest in their proposal.
In the “Site Needs Assessment” section of the Application, applicants should indicate known site parameters, utility hookups, and data requests to assist the Trust in assessing feasibility and potential site selection. As part of the evaluation and selection process, a site visit may be offered at the Trust’s discretion to explore feasibility and alignment, identify potential project sites, and inform a project workplan.
Real estate developers and prospective tenants should submit inquiries to realestate@govisland.org.
Please send questions to climate@govisland.org. Responses will be posted on the website up to one week before the Challenge application deadline.
Yes, applicants may re-submit in a future cycle.
Click here to receive updates on Governors Island Climate programs.